Year of Open Sourcehttps://yearofopensource.wordpress.com
One year of trying to use only free software, libre hardware, and option source options for all aspects of life.
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1 http://wordpress.com/https://s0.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngYear of Open Sourcehttps://yearofopensource.wordpress.com
Open Source Undies?https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/open-source-undies/
https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/open-source-undies/#commentsSun, 12 Aug 2012 02:24:24 +0000http://yearofopensource.net/?p=286Continue reading →]]>In hardware, Open Source techniques (collaborative working, sharing experiences and experiments, transparency in production) are designed to democratise the design and production process. To take what traditionally was a difficult and expensive task done only by experts, and provide the tools and methods to make it more accessible, faster, and more efficient.

Not all aspects of my life will provide great opportunity for open source improvement, however – particularly anything that already is fast, cheap, and easy to produce. For example, anyone can produce their own toothpaste in the same time it would take to brush their teeth. Here’s proof:

(this video is my first attempt at using open source editing software- OpenShot. It’s basic, but everything was easy to work out!)

To make toothpaste there’s no special equipment needed, no expensive materials. This recipe is just a variation on the WikiHow one: 80ml baking powder (NaHCO3.), 30ml hydrogen peroxide solution (3%, H2O2), 10ml glycerin (C3H8O3) (or you can use xylitol – C5H12O5), 2 drops peppermint oil. You can get hydrogen peroxide, peppermint oil and glycerin at most pharmacies. There’s not a great deal of variation or strong opinion on different toothpaste flavours, so although I’ll be using this open source version throughout the year, I’m not expecting others to get excited about it.

But what about more complicated matters? What about open source underwear?

I’m somewhat worried – I haven’t threaded a needle since the horrific experience of winning the school prize for sewing when I was 11 – it was a co-ed school, and my gigantic tribal beach baggies had for some reason impressed the judges. But I don’t just want to make undies for the sake of undies – I’m interested in seeing how Open Source methods can change clothing production.

My thinking is based on the simple idea that not everybody is a perfect small, medium, or large. Most people are not shaped like shopping mall mannequins. Even mannequins only fit their clothes because they’re pinned at the back. My chicken ankles make any pants other than stovepipes flap listlessly like spinnakers. My shoulders wouldn’t even look broad in an ’80s power suit, and I think my hips are wider than my chest. While a fit 60-year-old might proudly boast ‘I have the physique of someone half my age‘ it’s not ideal for a 28-year old. I’m not worried about my body shape, it’s just an inconvenience when looking for clothes.

One of Da Vinci’s lesser known drafts, before he really nailed that circle.

But if I were to go to a shopping mall on the hunt for a jacket, I’d have to hope that one of these multi-national chains happened to have a style I like, that suits my body shape, and doesn’t have any stupid piping, or contrast-coloured zips, or whatever else the mass-produced version of this season’s style is.

So finding something I like is already an unlikely proposition, even before thinking about the sizes available. Instead of finding just the right jacket for me, I might end up buying 2 or 3 articles on sale (‘saving’ money) which aren’t necessarily quite the right style, colour or fit.

It also seems that manufacturing clothing in the countries with the lowest wages and then shipping it in bulk to the countries with the highest incomes is hardly an agile system, and difficult to achieve efficiently. We’ve taken this frustration of clothes shopping for granted for a very, very long time. But what other option is there? Tailoring is too expensive, and making things yourself is too difficult, right?

Well, one goal of my project is to get people to consider how an open source method might work in different areas, and I think there are plenty of opportunities in clothing.

For example:

-Imagine an online community, (kind of like a thingiverse version of openwear), where people could share their designs freely with others. These designs would be electronic patterns, readable by a software program.

A user could download a pattern, alter its design to their own taste, and release it back to the community as well.

-If this software program could parametrically alter the designs – for example, if I took my chest, neck, waist and arm measurements as inputs, the program could calculate the necessary changes to the pattern and provide the correctly shaped and sized pieces to be cut out.

-On a private section of your online profile you would have all of your measurements recorded so you could instantly adapt any pattern to fit. (Of course, your measurements might need to be adjusted should you switch to a Paula Deen-inspired diet.)

-Then you would be able to print and cut out the design to sew together. This could be done in a low-tech manner (print out on paper, pin to material, cut out with scissors) or a mid-tech manner (use a computer-controlled plotter to draw the design on material, cut out with scissors) or a high-tech manner (a computer-controlled laser cuts the parts directly)

Now this idea does not solve all the difficulty of actually designing or sewing the clothes, but the focus is on removing or streamlining the computational aspect of a tailor’s work, and leaving more time for creativity in design and high-quality crafting.

In order to illustrate the concept I would like to make my own boxer shorts. I’ve chosen boxer shorts because they’re one of the simpler articles of men’s clothing, and they really only have one key measurement – the waist. There’s generally a bit of give and take in terms of the length and leg circumference of boxer shorts, and I’m sure you could adjust them in a ratio with the waist measurement.

Is anybody keen to help me? I’m not trying to build a huge software program, just develop or adapt:

-a boxer short design (I guess in vector graphic format?)

-an equation which would adjust the size of pieces in accordance with the waist measurement

-a way of linking these together.

Who’s in? There’s a perfectly-fitting pair of boxer shorts in it for you…

Send me an email (sam at yearofopensource.net) or just come along to Open Design City at 7pm on Monday, to discuss the future of undies, to take part in a few activities, play with textiles, work out some techniques/methods we could use, and meet some other interesting folk.

We’ll be discussing, visualizing and quickly prototyping our ideas, focusing on the following core questions:

– democratizing design – how can people without a fashion design background bring their ideas into their garments?
-democratizing manufacture – how can people without a background in sewing put clothing together themselves?
– what possibilities are there for open source development in the field of smart fabrics etc?
– how can current clothing distribution models be improved and updated?
-how could collaboration and community sharing work in a fashion/clothing context?

People of all backgrounds and interests are welcome.

This is a preliminary brainstorming session – in a few weeks we’ll be putting some of our ideas into action at a further workshop.

Let me know what you think in the comments – could this kind of clothing system work? is there anything like it already? is the future for open source toothpaste really as dead as I assume?

]]>https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/open-source-undies/feed/11yearofopensourceWays you can help!https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/ways-you-can-help/
https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/ways-you-can-help/#commentsSat, 11 Aug 2012 08:34:36 +0000http://yearofopensource.net/?p=278Continue reading →]]>Thanks for all the messages of support over the last couple of days, although the initial crowdfunding campaign has finished, you can now donate using flattr and BitCoin (my address is 1EFmHdKYV5oEx9wfT67MvARgyjaB9SahTv -there will be proper buttons & links etc on the new website up tomorrow). I’ve quit my part-time job to focus on this full-time, but I’m only just scraping by!

If you like the idea of the project and would like to help out, there is all sorts of non-financial help that I need:

I would like to make the project accessible to non-English speakers, so if you can help me with translation of videos or texts into your language, please let me know! I can provide transcripts to each video as they come out. I’ll be filming in various parts of Europe over the year – I can translate from Spanish or German into English, but not the other way around – I wouldn’t want viewers to have to put up with my crappy grammar errors.

Any suggestions for a good online video multi-language subtitling resource?

I don’t have the resources to be able to buy an open source phone, computer or camera, or even to buy the parts and put them together. If anyone can sponsor me with an open source product, or if you know anybody developing an interesting open source hardware project who might need some publicity, I would love to be able to at least borrow a test version to play with and discuss, even if only for a month or two.

If you’re based in Berlin, there are plenty of ways you can help. If you:

a) have some experience shooting with Canon DSLRs, or would like to learn

b) have some editing experience or would like to learn, and are keen to join me in getting to grips with open source NLEs

c) are experienced with Blender and would like to show off your skills (and Blender’s capabilities) with a little animation/compositing

d) have experience with open source audio programs and sound recording

e) are good at organizing and planning, and could help me make a timeline and organise some projects, visits and interviews to help me tackle this huge task (Native speakers of German would also be very helpful).

Berliners, you can also come down to Open Design City in Kreuzberg on Monday night at 19.00. Come meet others interested in open source making and have a brainstorm about projects we can undertake throughout the year. There will be snacks. I’ll post more info tonight!

There are plenty of other ways people might be able to help, just send me an email if you think of something you can offer. The more skilled people who can help in any way, the better this project can be. If someone you know might be able to help me out, tell them to get in touch! I want it to be as far-reaching, entertaining and thought-provoking as possible, and I can only do so with your help. Thank you very much for all the suggestions so far, we’re currently working on turning this blog into a navigable, multi-functional website, so keep checking back!

in the meantime, feel free to contact me: sam at yearofopensource.net

]]>https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/ways-you-can-help/feed/8yearofopensourceThis last open source hero sure can fill out a speedo…https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/last-open-source-hero/
https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/last-open-source-hero/#respondWed, 08 Aug 2012 22:27:07 +0000http://yearofopensource.net/?p=261Continue reading →]]>9 hours to go, and the IndieGoGo campaign is just over $6600! thanks so much to everyone who has contributed so far, it has been an amazing experience getting the word out and hearing back from so many helpful and generous people around the world.

There are enough dedicated and inspired individuals working, discussing and tinkering on open source projects to fill thousands of calendars. We’ve tried to highlight some of the core individuals leading by example and spreading the word about open source, but the movement’s greatest asset is and has always been the community, and they need to be honored too.

]]>https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/last-open-source-hero/feed/0yearofopensourceOpen Source CommunityLast 24 hours of crowdfunding!https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/last-24-hours-of-crowdfunding/
https://yearofopensource.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/last-24-hours-of-crowdfunding/#respondWed, 08 Aug 2012 08:16:31 +0000http://yearofopensource.net/?p=253Continue reading →]]>The IndieGoGo campaign has just 1 day left, so time to reveal the last few heroes for the calendar…

One of the most mind-blowing and inspiring projects of the open source and open hardware world is certainly the 3D-printing revolution, and this is lead by the original, evolving, self-replicating 3D printer, the RepRap. I’ll be investigating the RepRap, its evolution and its community throughout the year, but here’s its inventor, Adrian Bowyer, to whet your appetite.

There’s a nice quote from the Guardian in his Wikipedia entry: “[RepRap] has been called the invention that will bring down global capitalism, start a second industrial revolution and save the environment…”

Here’s Adrian talking about his invention (the video’s a few years old, I’ll be covering some of the more recent breakthroughs over the coming months).

Also, of course, none of the current world of open source would have been possible without the World Wide Web, and its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee:

Limor Fried is the owner and generally awesome electrical engineer behind Adafruit Industries where you can get all sorts of amazing DIY open source electronics kits for learning, playing and experimenting. Or you can get severe soldering burns if you’re anything like me.

Anyone who contributes more than $25 gets a digital download of the calendar, and anyone who contributes $60 or more gets a real one! in real life! We’re almost at $6K, which is getting closer to being able to occasionally have a camera operator – so please let everyone know about the campaign on twitter, facebook, walk down the street yelling in your dressing gown, whatever you need to do. Or you could consider contributing yourself, perhaps? (this is not an all-or-nothing campaign like Kickstarter – the project still gets its funds if it doesn’t reach the goal)
In other news, though, what would have been one small step for most tech-savvy types (installing the simplest, most user-friendly distribution of Linux) proved to be one giant leap for me this week. I’ve lived two years with a broken CD/DVD drive on my MacBook Pro and never once needed it. It sure would have come in handy this week though.

As it turns out, Macs don’t like you fiddling around switching operating systems, they’d prefer you just use Mac OS, thanks. But if you must, then you’d better damn well use a CD to boot and install another system. So what I assumed was going to be one of the least painful switches of the year actually resulted in an awful lot of of swearing, fist-shaking and forum-combing, and every type of dead end imaginable.

Only after using 5 different techniques with 7 different disk images over a 5-day timespan, and having many a terse cup of tea, was I finally able to boot Ubuntu from a USB. No small thanks to my friend Martin who stood by and told me which keys to jab, even patiently explaining what some of the commands I was typing meant. Martin claims it was using the right choice of alternate .iso which solved it in the end. I want to trust him, but I can’t deny that sacrificing 3 goats, 6 virgins and a chicken felt pretty good too.

So, bye bye Apple, as far as software goes, at least. Final Cut Pro has been deleted, so the next video might be another few days away – got to find me some open source editing software first. I’m going to try OpenShot, Cinelerra and Novacut. any other suggestions?

I’ll fill you in on a little more of my progress very soon, in the mean time have a look around Shareable.net – I’m doing a regular blog post there about this project, so keep an eye out!

Now, this project format is hardly ideal – for example, the label is a non-editable PNG, and the .odt with the recipe does not include previous revisions. I’ll be looking into how to better document my projects over the next few weeks. This is also one of the many issues with my current website setup – I’m starting a ‘bug list’ of areas to work on over the year and the project website (and the bug list itself) are right at the top. Vimeo is also a temporary video hosting solution until I get a better website up & running. Anyone have much experience with GNU MediaGoblin, or Kaltura.org?

While some aspects of my project might take a few weeks to organise a solution for (the open source cellphone is hopefully coming soon, but it’s not cheap…) – there are things I can change on day 1. Software is of course the obvious one, so over the course of the day I’m going to be installing Linux and open source software. I’ve already written the suicide note for my personal facebook page, (come join me on diaspora!) and I’m currently composing an inventory of products and services I use.

In other news, the IndieGoGo campaign is still on for another week – tell your friends! Here’s Judith’s latest drawing for the calendar:

Thanks so much to everybody who has donated so far, and I’ve had plenty of offers of help too – the past few days has been wonderful for meeting interesting people doing amazing work in various fields of openness. Also things are ticking along with the crowdfunding, we’re almost at $5K, and I’m currently backing up all important documents and photos etc for the big switch to Linux on the 1st of August. 2 days to go til the project kicks off! Anyone who donates over $25 to the project gets themself a digital download of the calendar, and $60 or more will get you a real paper version to stroke lovingly!

A couple more interviews this week: here’s one with Kay Alexander on EDUKWEST. EDUKWEST is an educational partner of IndieGoGo and they’ve chosen Year of Open Source as a campaign worth supporting, so now you’ll see a little ‘PARTNER’ tag for EDUKWEST on my IndieGoGo page.

Also, if you were in New Zealand and you and the family were gathered around the wireless on Saturday, you may have heard me on This Way Up on Radio NZ. I may be back on later on in the year, talking about, amongst other things, my snuggly successes or blistery failures in creating open source socks.

Every supporter will receive a recipe for their own Copyleft cookies to make and share with friends!

Not everybody’s a multi-millionaire, and now you don’t even need $10 to contribute. If you like the project and feel like contributing, whether you contribute $1, $5, or $1000, every supporter, included those who have already donated, will receive a recipe for Copyleft cookies to make at home. (I can personally attest to their buttery, chocolaty deliciousness). And if you’re feeling greedy, just rotate them to create copyright cookies, and eat them all yourself.

mine. hands off.

Feeling peckish? head over to IndieGoGo, check out how the campaign’s going and give a dollar to a crunchy, sweet, chocolate-studded cause.

One of the key people behind the Firefox web browser, and a board member of the Open Source Applications Foundation, she has been one of the strongest advocates for widespread adoption of open source software. To find out more, check out this interview for Wired!

No, not all open source is copyleft. There are a number of different licenses and approaches.
The aim for my project is always to achieve the FSF’s definition of ‘the 4 Freedoms‘, and I plan to evaluate ideas, projects and products on their position in the free->open->closed/nonfree spectrum throughout the year, including whether they are true copyleft, or if they are simply permissively licensed, if they are public domain (NOT open source but still acceptable for my project in most situations) or if they are proprietary.

You have proprietary vaccines in your body! You’re not open source!

The aim to live 100% open source is the goal, and it’s a naive and impossible goal. But the project itself is about the attempt. I am interested in the philosophy of open source and free software, and I want to promote it, but I also want to be realistic about it.

I’m going to try to reach that goal, and I will still be trying, even when it makes my life difficult and uncomfortable. I’ll still be trying well past the point any sane person would have given up, gone home and had a warm, proprietary Nespresso.

I realise that there are current limitations, particularly in terms of what open source hardware is available. I’ll be trying to overcome some of these limitations by developing new projects, or outlining the best path towards developing solutions. There are also theoretical limitations – is it even possible to have an open source airline? should we allow modification and redistribution of swine flu?

Whenever I come across hurdles in my path, I’ll be trying various different methods of leaping over them, scurrying under them, or whacking them with a stick. I’ll share my experiences and solutions with the community. Some solutions will require plenty of creativity and lateral thinking. Many will make me look foolish. I am totally ok with this.

What about your Mac?

There has been plenty of discussion on tech sites about how I’m going to deal with the basic problem of my computer hardware. A MacBook Pro is an extremely closed-source machine, packed with patented, proprietary components. And there are no open source equivalents. So I’m going to approach the problem in three different ways:

1) FrankenBook Pro
I’m not going to throw it on a bonfire – I just don’t have the financial resources to go and buy a new computer. Even if I reach my crowdfunding goal, this is still a low-budget, bare-bones production. If you can provide me with a suitable, more open replacement, then sure, I’ll give the Mac to an organisation that needs it (with Linux installed, naturally).
So as well as switching to free software, I’m going to donate its body to science, so to speak – over the year I will try to replace as many of its hardware components as possible with open source components.

2) Simple solutions
I have thought about my computing needs for this project and year, and what I need, at its most basic, is a simple machine for editing videos and connecting to the internet. I want to put together a simple, cheap, and extremely basic computer, that will perform the basic task necessary.
My aim is to work with others – developers, programmers, electronics and hardware experts – to develop a very basic solution to the problem.
Is there a way to hook up a Raspberry Pi with a basic open hardware LCD screen or other monitor and run an extremely simplistic video editing program? even if it is black and white, slow, with seriously crappy resolution, the idea is to provide a test project, something that others can build on to improve.
An inspiration for this kind of project is The Toaster Project – it’s not meant to be a practical solution to the problem but an interesting way to visualize and think about the complexity of the issue.

3) Predicting the future
I intend to conduct interviews with experts on computer hardware and investigate the problems facing development of a suitable open source alternative to a MacBook Pro. What problems remain unsolved? Is there any hope for a better solution in the future?
I’ll present the results of my interviews and research in video and/or writing on the website.

Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Debian have nonfree elements. Firefox has nonfree elements. Does that mean you can’t use them?

Some would say yes. I say no. The intent of my project is to get more people interested and involved in Open Source. Having me bawling my eyes out at how difficult it is to use open source software is not the best way to do this.
Firefox and Ubuntu are good examples of open source software designed with non-technical users in mind, and they are great ways to bring more people into the community. I will not be using only one distro or browser exclusively throughout the year, however. I’ll test-drive plenty, and use different software for different needs.
But what I will do when faced with free software with nonfree elements is be explicit and transparent about the nonfree parts, see if there is any way around them, and raise awareness of the issue so that the developers of the software know it is important and not forgotten.

Why Open Source, not free software? It’s about freedom!

Since starting my campaign I’ve had a few discussions with people about this issue, and at this stage I’m trying to stay relatively neutral with regards to terminology.
The main reason not to use a name referring to ‘free software’ is simply because a huge part of my project, perhaps the majority, is going to be focused on free and open source hardware, which tends to only use the open source moniker. However, I am also using the term ‘libre hardware’. Now I am trying to mostly use ‘free software’ but also ‘free and open source software’ and simply ‘open source’, although that is usually when referring to the general movement rather than software specifically.
The terminology I use will be up for debate early on in the project itself – I want to bring in many opinions to the discussion and work out what I should be saying, or rather how I should be saying it.

So on August 1st you’ll be living totally open source?

From the first of August I will avoid buying any more traditionally copyrighted products, and will start the process of replacing as many of my proprietary possessions as possible.
Obviously I can’t achieve all my aims within the first week. I’ll be tackling issues one-by-one in order to be able to research, get feedback and input, conduct interviews, develop solutions and write up documentation.
The things I use everyday, the clearest solutions and the things I buy regularly will be first.So the first project will be the obvious one – On August 1 I’ll switch to Linux and open source software. Beer has to follow soon after.
This might mean those of you giddy with excitement at the thought of tackling open source refrigeration might have to wait a couple of months while I deal with the issue of an open source cellphone. But of course if my fridge dies in the meantime (which it is constantly threatening to do), then it will cut in to the front of the line, and I’ll have to deal with the issue there and then. This is a one-year process and I hope at the end of the year to be living as open source as humanly possible, while still being connected to the internet, eating food and making videos.

What are you talking about, toilet paper?! Surely toilet paper is public domain!

My mention of toilet paper was a throwaway comment meant to make people understand the extent of the issues I’ll be investigating, and that I won’t just be dealing with high-tech issues. The line has been included in a few headlines, and unfortunately far too much importance has been placed upon this particular point and derailed the conversation on some sites.

For fulfilling my project I see it as ‘public domain good, open source better’ – I will use plenty of products whose production patents have expired (eg toilet paper, or dried spaghetti, or a bicycle). I can use these public domain products, but if I can occasionally make explicitly open source versions which explain how something is made and actively encourage others to make or modify their own, all the better. This will often be done to explain the difference between public domain and open source.

What rules are you setting yourself – what can you still buy?
Basic materials – textiles and food which are not made or grown from patented seed strains or still covered by patents. Basic foodstuffs where the production process is clear and only one ingredient is used, eg orange juice, olive oil, milk. I’m OK with these products, although I may experiment. Wires, circuit boards, basic components for making electronics projects. Wood, nails, glue etc for DIY projects.

Some of the mining and metallurgy involved in the production of these materials is probably proprietary. The trucks that deliver the food are proprietary. There are all sorts of proprietary processes involved in these not-particularly proprietary materials. This project is not just about seeing how much of an effect open source has on the real world but it’s also a way to show how closed-source and proprietary our current products, lifestyles and production systems are. I’ll be acknowledging, discussing and examining these issues over the year.
General nit-picking is fine, but constructive suggestions are much more helpful – If you know of ways around these issues please tell me.